Baji Prabhu Deshpande

Baji Prabhu Deshpande (c. 1615 – 13 July 1660) was a general of the Maratha Army. He is known for his role in the Battle of Pavan Khind at Ghod Khind, where he sacrificed his life defending Shivaji Maharaj from incoming Adil Shahi forces of Siddi Johar. He also was a landlord or Vatandar in the Maval region.

Early life
Baji Prabhu was born around 1615 in a Chandraseniya Kayastha family. Earlier he worked under Krishnaji Bandal of Rohida near Bhor. After Shivaji Maharaj defeated Krishnaji at Rohida and captured the fort, many commanders along with Baji Prabhu joined Shivaji.

Battle of Pavan Khind
Shivaji Maharaj continued to push into the Bijapur territory, after defeating Afzal Khan and the rout of the Bijapur army at Pratapgad. Within a few days, the Marathas captured Panhala fort (near the city of Kolhapur). Meanwhile, another Maratha force, led by Netaji Palkar, pushed towards Bijapur. Bijapur forces repulsed this attack, forcing Shivaji, some of his commanders and soldiers to retreat to Panhala fort.

The Bijapur troops was led by Siddhi Johar, an Abyssinian general. Discovering Shivaji's location, Johar laid siege to Panhala. Netaji Palkar made repeated attempts to break the Bijapur force siege from outside, but these failed.

A risky plan was then put into action: Shivaji, Baji Prabhu Deshpande with a select band of troops would attempt to break through the siege at the night, and make for Vishalgad. In order to deceive the Bijapur forces, to avoid a chase if they found out that Shivaji had broken the siege, Shiva Kashid a barber by profession, had physical resemblance to Shivaji, volunteered to dress like the king and let himself be captured.

On a stormy full moon night (night of Guru Purnima) 600 men led by Baji Prabhu and Shivaji, broke through the siege. They were pursued by the Bijapur force. As planned, Shiva Kashid allowed himself to be captured and taken back to the Bijapur camp, guessing that he would be put to death once the charade was discovered. This gave the fleeing Maratha force some breathing space.

As soon as the Bijapur force realized their mistake, the chase was on again, led by Siddhi Masood, the son-in-law of Siddhi Johar. Near the pass of Ghodkhind (Horse's Pass), the Marathas made a final stand. Shivaji and half of the Maratha force pushed for Vishalgadh, while Baji Prabhu, his brother Phulaji and the remaining Bandal Sena of a few hundred men blocked the pass and fought against 10000 Bijapur soldiers in the Ghodkhind Pass for more than 18 hours.

Baji Prabhu used a weapon called "Dand Patta". Through the battle, Baji Prabhu, though grievously injured, continued fighting, inspiring his men to fight on until Shivaji's safe journey to Vishalgadh was signaled by the firing of three cannon volleys. It should be mentioned that when Shivaji approached Vishalgad with 300 men, the fort was already under siege by Bijapur sardars named Suryarao Surve and Jaswantrao Dalvi. Shivaji with his 300 men had to defeat Surve to reach the fort.

The Ghod Khind pass was subsequently named Pavan Khind ("Holy Pass") by Shivaji, in honor of the sacrifice of Baji Prabhu and his troops.

Descendants
The village, Shind, Bhor in Maharashtra, was the native place of Baji Prabhu Deshpande. The descendants of Baji Prabhu Deshpande still live in that area. Another part of his family live in Bhor village and they have been continuing the heritage of their ancestors.

Vishnu Narayan Deshpande, the 10th descendant and former Sarapanch of Parhar Budruk, was a freedom fighter. His wife Latika Deshpande was a relative of the author Ram Ganesh Gadkari. The family has a relationship with the family of Rango Bapuji Gupte. Vishnu Narayan Deshpande had four sons and four daughters. His son Dilip Deshpande upheld the cause of dam affected displaced people and their rehabilitation and farming is their family business. The family conducts social work and is aware of the legacy passed by previous generations.

One of Baji Prabhu Despande's descendants, Ramchandra Kashinath Deshpande, was an Indian freedom fighter against the British rule, educationalist and a social activist who worked in Dhule, Jalgaon. He participated in the Quit India Movement during the British rule and was imprisoned for 19 months in the Kolhapur Central Jail. He was felicitated after Independence by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. For his social work, he was conferred the title of ‘Special Executive Magistrate’ by the Maharashtra government in 1989.

In popular culture

 * In 1909, Sri Aurobindo composed an English poem titled Baji Prabhou, describing his heroic sacrifice at the battle at the Panhala Fort.
 * Baji Prabhu Deshpande, an Indian silent film on the warrior was made by Baburao Painter in 1929. Another silent film, Veer Baji, released in the same year and was produced by Omkar Films.
 * Indian independence activist and politician Vinayak Damodar Savarkar wrote a Ballad on Baji Prabhu but it was banned by the colonial British government. This ban was lifted on 24 May 1946.
 * Baji Prabhu's character featured Raja Shivchatrapati tv series of Star Pravah in 2000s.
 * Ajinkya Deo portrayed Baji Prabhu in 2021 series Jai Bhawani Jai Shivaji aired on Star Pravah.
 * A Marathi-language film, Pawankhind, directed by Digpal Lanjekar and starring Ajay Purkar as Baji Prabhu Deshpande, was released on 18 February 2022.
 * Har Har Mahadev, a film directed by Abhijit Deshpande, starring Sharad Kelkar as Baji Prabhu Deshpande and produced by Zee Studios released 25 October 2022 in 5 language (Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada, along with Marathi).